1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a signaling device and more specifically to an emergency flasher, suitable as emergency equipment for roadway vehicles and water craft.
2. Background of the Invention
Many accidents occur on roads and highways, thereby requiring that traffic be directed around an obstacle or hazard. Any method used to redirect vehicular and foot traffic from an area must be clearly visible to pedestrians and drivers, especially at night. Presently lights, reflectors or flares are commonly used to indicate hazardous areas on a roadway at night. These devices suffer from a number of different disadvantages. The lights are usually cumbersome when incorporated with other equipment and, therefore, they are not normally suitable for storage as emergency equipment in automobiles or trucks.
Flares and reflectors mounted on saw horses tend to be lightweight and easily moved and destroyed by moving vehicles. Flares have the disadvantage of having a limited lifetime which may be shorter than the duration of the obstacle or hazard which they are signifying. Additionally, flares may not operate during rain or snow, give off smoke, may injure the person using the flare or damage property surrounding it, and are not reusable. Although a reflector may be an effective means to signal and redirect traffic around an obstacle when the oncoming traffic has light sources such as headlights, traffic traveling without lights may not detect the reflector and thus avoid the obstacle. There is, therefore, a need for an effective, inexpensive, readily portable means of signaling emergency conditions on the road.